Integrating ICT Into higher education: onsite and online students’ perceptions in a large vs a small university

Abstract

For the past two decades, information and communication technologies (ICT) have transformed the ways professors teach and students learn. This paper aims to compare the perceptions of onsite students (blended mode) and of those taking the same courses on the Internet (online mode) in a large vs a small university. To guide the studies, a moderatortype theoretical research model was developed, out of which eight hypotheses were formulated. The model was tested in a field experiment in two universities located in two different countries in Canada: a large university with an enrollment of 48,000 students and a small university with an enrollment of 4,000 students. To collect data, we used a multimethod approach, that is, a Web survey involving open- and closed-ended questions. The samples were formed of 313 onsite and online students from the large university and of 192 onsite and online students from the small university. The quantitative data analysis was performed using a structural equation modeling software, that is, Partial Least Squares (PLS); the qualitative data were analyzed following a thematic structure using QSR NVivo software. In this paper we present a comparison between the two universities of the quantitative results (closed-ended questions) supported and enriched by the qualitative results of the students (open-ended questions).